Skillet Spaghetti alla Carbonara
- Makes4 servings
- Cook Time40 minutes
- 1
Despite its short ingredient list and reputation as dead-easy to make, pasta alla carbonara rarely is great. The eggs go from raw to scrambled in an instant; the window for achieving the perfect luxurious consistency is woefully narrow. Our skillet-only recipe (no need to boil a pot of water!) harnesses the thickening effect of the starch released by the pasta as it cooks in just 4½ cups water to create a sauce with the ideal richness, silkiness and clingability. We add the yolks, tempered with a little of the pasta-cooking liquid, at the end, and the residual heat of the pasta and pan heat them to just the right degree without risk of curdling. If you can find guanciale, or cured pig jowl, use it for the deepest, porkiest flavor, otherwise pancetta works. Bronze-cut spaghetti is essential here. This type of pasta is extruded through a bronze die that leaves the noodles with a rough, floury appearance. It not only releases more starch during cooking, its surface texture better grips the sauce. Widely available DeCecco is “bronze drawn” and works, as do premium brands such as Rustichella d’Abruzzo.
Note: this is our updated low-water skillet method for Spaghetti alla Carbonara. Find our previous recipe for Roman Spaghetti Carbonara here.
Don’t use all the rendered fat from the guanciale; measure out only 1 tablespoon for combining with the yolks. Too much pork fat can make the dish cloying. If you use pancetta, however, it may not render a tablespoon. In that case, supplement with extra-virgin olive oil.
Step 1
In a small bowl, toss together both cheeses. In a 12-inch skillet over medium, cook the guanciale, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, 4 to 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a small bowl; set aside. Measure 1 tablespoon of the rendered fat into another small bowl; if you used pancetta and do not have 1 tablespoon rendered fat, make up the difference with olive oil. Pour off and discard any remaining fat in the skillet and reserve the skillet.
Step 2
To the rendered fat, whisk in 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture, the egg yolks and 1½ teaspoons pepper; set aside. To the skillet, add the spaghetti, placing the noodles parallel to each other in the center of the pan, then add 2 tablespoons of the pecorino-Parmesan mixture and ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Add 4½ cups water. Bring to a boil over medium-high and cook, uncovered and frequently moving the pasta about with tongs but keeping it submerged as much as possible, until just shy of al dente; when done, the pasta will no longer be fully submerged and there should be a fair amount of starchy liquid (at least 1 cup) in the pan. If the pasta is very underdone and the water already is quite reduced, add another ½ cup water and cook, stirring often, until just shy of al dente.
Step 3
With the skillet still on medium-high, add about half of the remaining pecorino-Parmesan mixture and toss until fully melted. Add the remaining cheese mixture in 2 more additions, tossing until melted after each. The liquid will have formed a thin sauce that pools in the pan. Continue tossing the spaghetti until al dente and lightly sauced, with a small amount of creamy sauce (about ¼ cup) pooled in the skillet; the timing will vary based on how much liquid was in the pan before the first addition of cheese. But at this point, cooking should take a couple of minutes at most.
Step 4
Remove the pan from the heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the sauce in the skillet to the yolk mixture and whisk to combine. Now add the yolk mixture to the pasta; toss until evenly distributed and the sauce clings to the noodles. Toss in the guanciale. Taste and season with salt. Serve sprinkled with additional pepper, if desired.
